Bay of Naples and Ravello Vacation Tour

Naples is a bustling city with a history spanning three millennia. The streets maintain a colorful, exuberant atmosphere leading to the harbor. The aroma of pizza dough cooking in wood-fire brick ovens emanates from antique pizzerias. The sounds of tenors singing beneath loggias echo across open piazzas. Your flight lands at Naples International Airport, where your private transfer escorts you to an opulent hotel overlooking the harbor. Sailboats wade in the gentle wake of the Mediterranean Sea. You have a view of the promenade and the lingering image of Castel dell’Ovo rising above the boulders on the sea promontory.

After settling into luxury, your guide meets you in the lavish lobby of your hotel, ready to escort you on a private tour of Naples’s preserved and displayed past. The 16th-century baroque chapel in Cappella Sansevero contains Masonic-inspired décor guiding your attention to the unforgettable statue of the Veiled Christ, as created by the artist Giuseppe Sanmartino. The 18th-century artwork depicts Jesus covered in a thin veil. The intricate detail in attention to his humanistic character, along with how the artist produced such a thin layer of marble, makes it tempting to try and lift the marble covering to view the image of Jesus beneath.

Santa Lucia leads along the western edges of Piazza del Plebiscito sloping towards the sea. The huddle of narrow steps and lanes offers a taste of traditional life in Naples. Bakeries fill the street with the aroma of cookies and fresh bread. Cafes provide strong espressos for locals watching passersby in the afternoon. Children kick soccer balls against the stone buildings with laundry dangling from lines hung outside the upper windows. The beauty of the city emanates from its traditional life, along with the artistry inside the numerous galleries.

In the morning, the sailboats set out on the Mediterranean Sea. Skippers raise the sails to catch the breeze. Fishermen return from the horizon with nets ready for market, brimming with branzinos, prawns, and marlins. You partake in a traditional Italian breakfast of rich espresso and freshly baked brioche before meeting your guide to Herculaneum. The ancient Roman city fell beneath layers of ash and pumice during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, similar to that of its better-known sister city, Pompeii. Herculaneum was destroyed over the course of 12 hours as magma filled the empty spaces and ash fell over the tops of the city like an earthen blanket, preserving the city.

Multi-storied homes, hotels, stairways, and even wooden furniture have been uncovered since the 18th century. The scent of rich minerals continues to fill the air, rising from the soil and ash yet to be removed. The stone columns flanking the House of Galba frame the cross-shaped pool. Your guide explains it was most likely an ornamental pond in which the owner kept fish. The House of the Mosaic of Neptune and Amphitrite takes your breath away with the radiant colors preserved in the artwork. Marble masks frame the glass mosaic depicting two figures surrounded by vibrant vases and crowned with a textured fan. After taking your time wandering the streets of Herculaneum, you make your way to a private kitchen for an introduction to making a traditional Neapolitan pizza.

In the morning, locals venture to the park outside of the Royal Palace of Capodimonte to jog or walk along the pebbled trails. Bakeries in the neighborhood of Santa Lucia place freshly baked cookies and brioches in their display cases to entice passersby. You make your way to the entrance of Pompeii with a private transfer to meet your guide, eager to take you through the famous Roman city preserved through the same volcanic eruption as Herculaneum. The city is much larger and better known than the streets you wandered along previously; however, the sprawling and haunting archeological sites are as, if not more, compelling, surpassing its legendary reputation.

The rich mineral aroma contains hints of lemon emanating from the nearby orchards. Your guide leads you first to the Roman Forum, the center of civic, political, and religious life in the city. A nearly 10-foot tall platform supported the Temple of Jupiter. The cobblestone streets bisect on a grid in traditional Roman design. The House of the Faun encompasses a city block and boasts two courts. An intricate bronze statue stands at the center of the rain tank reaching its upward in dance. The marble floor has a remarkably preserved geometric pattern adding to the idea of the importance of art in the Roman world.

The conical peak of Mount Vesuvius is visible from areas of the city still under excavation. After exploring the homes, bakeries, and frescoes of Pompeii, your guide leads you to a winery on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, encompassing nearly 30 acres. The mineral-rich volcanic soil adds to the flavor of the grapes, producing a uniquely delicious wine. After the tour, you sit on an open table in view of the mountain summit, surrounded by vines, eager to taste a wine similar to what Roman citizens would have had two millennia ago.

In the morning, the shops on Via Toleda, one of the longest shopping streets in Naples, opens their doors, offering stunning window displays to grab the attention of passersby. The Porta Nolana Fish Market fills with vendors sprawling beneath the round towers of the Aragonese gateway displaying their clams, eels, and oysters. After breakfast, your guide meets you in the hotel lobby and escorts you to the National Archeological Museum, located inside a 17th-century palace. Step beyond the rosy hues of the façade to discover one of the largest collections of Greek and Roman antiquity, along with a large exhibit on the Renaissance in Southern Italy. Natural light spills into the lobby through the ornate windows.

The ground floor contains the Farnese collection, a gallery of magnificent Greek and Roman sculptures donated by the Farnese family who once ruled the Kingdom of Naples. The Farnese Bull was crafted in the 3rd century AD to the acclaim of Pliny the Elder. The masculine, and gigantic animal carved from a single block of marble is depicted attacking the Queen of Thebes. The historic trail around Naples connects the mezzanine with the mosaic of The Battle of Alexander Against Darius. The more than 215-square-foot art piece was crafted in the 2nd century BC and taken from Pompeii during the excavations to preserve the luster and image of the past.

Relish a refreshing breakfast of espresso and freshly baked brioche with a view from your hotel of the steep slopes of the Amalfi Coast leading down to the turquoise Mediterranean Sea. The town of Ravello stands atop the hillside at nearly 1,200 feet above sea level. Villa Rufolo was originally constructed in the 13th century and was renovated in the 19th century, helping to inspire Wagner’s opera Parsifa. A gray stone tower marks the entrance to the gardens and terrace for which the villa is known.

A nearly 100-foot tall watchtower from the original villa construction remains, casting a shadow over the neo-Moorish cloister draped in bougainvillea and azaleas. Stroll alongside the stone rampart for a view to the horizon. The fountain trickles into the waiting circular pool. The scent of carnations blends with the olive groves on the hills outside of town. You meet your private driver to follow the famous shoreline of the Amalfi Coast, celebrated by the historic Roman aristocracy and Hollywood royalty alike. The village of Cetara is nestled into the hillside beside the Amalfi.

Citrus groves grow on the terraces and blend with the aroma of the sea. The 16th-century watchtower remains on the promontory endlessly searching the horizon after a Turkish invasion in the 1550s. Houses resemble sugar cubes leaning against the shore. The glazed dome of the church of St. Peter glints in the sunlight against the 13th-century bell tower. Fishermen linger on the water in search of tuna and anchovies. In the afternoon, the fragrance of cooked fish garnished with lemon juice and grilled mozzarella accented with lemon leaves emanates from the beachside restaurants.

Today you have a private transfer to the marina at Amalfi to board the ferry to the island of Capri. The turquoise waters decorate your view out the window. The coast of mainland Italy shrinks behind you. The towering cliffs of the island grow before you, reaching a height of 200 feet above the sea. The ferry docks at Marina Grande. The sweet and briny aroma of the sea swirls in the breeze. Tower homes painted with pastel colors frame the pebbled beach and wading fishing boats.

Sailboats cruise along the edges of the island moving towards the Faraglioni sea stacks. A funicular takes you up the hillside, emptying into Piazza Umberto I. Cafes have set up tables across the square offering espresso and views of the water to patrons. The 14th-century Carthusian monastery has a gothic doorway, two cloisters, and 17th-century frescoes decorating the interior walls. Boutique shops with elegant window displays line the cobblestone streets in the car-free center of town.

Wander along the lanes of Capri and the serene smaller town of Anacapri before visiting Villa di Tiberio, once the home of Roman Emperor Tiberius in the 1st century AD. The steep terrain split the villa into two levels spanning more than 193,750 square feet. A cliff reaching a height of nearly 900 feet tall overlooks the water and the rugged steep slopes of the island. The scent of fern trees and azaleas fill the air. A goat grazes on the grass growing alongside the villa trail. The corridors lead to open passageways facing the northern apartments offering views to the Gulf of Naples.

In the morning, you once again absorb the remarkable view of the Amalfi Coast from the heights of Ravello. Sip a decadent cappuccino topped with a layer of sweet foam before meeting your guide for your tour of Paestum. The former Greek settlement was established in the 7th century BC. The ruins are some of the only remains of Greek settlements left on mainland Italy, preserved through a mixture of re-appropriation by several cultures and abandonment over the millennia. The central temple, known as the Temple of Hera II, is the largest of the remaining structures.

The edifice was erected in the 5th century BC standing at an imposing 195 feet long by 80 feet wide. The scent of ancient stone emanates from the pillars and metopes decorating the archeological site. Three Christian tombs found in the floor of the 6th-century Temple of Ceres indicate the structure was transformed into a Christian church near the beginnings of regional religious transformation. The open plain makes the ancient structures look even larger, as they rise out of the rustling grass.

After touring the ancient site, you stop at a local dairy farm to learn the art of producing buffalo mozzarella, a regional cheese famous around the world for its creamy texture and decadent flavor. Your guide leads you through the grounds, pointing out the copper tubs in which they heat the milk, and how the cheese-maker sifts through the boiling liquid to harvest the curds. At the end of the tour, you sample some of the cheeses the dairy produces on the property, now knowing the effort and time it takes to craft the perfect cheese.

Lemon and orange groves, along with olive orchards, grow around the edges of Ravello. The sweet and zesty aroma emanating from the trees accompanies the chocolaty scent of your morning cappuccino. The pristine white façade of the 11th-century cathedral glints in the sunlight spreading across the main piazza. The cream-colored homes of town ascend into the hills, which roll away from the sea. Your private transfer meets you in the hotel lobby after breakfast and escorts you around the Bay of Naples to the Capodichino International Airport in Naples for your flight home.